Method of making artificial building blocks



Nov. 6 1923.

F. MCM. SAWYER METHOD OF' MAKING ARTIFICIAL BUILDING BLOCKS l PatentedNov. 6, i923.

Y UNT@ FATES lsdldtt earner carica.

METHOD OF MAKING ARTIFICIAL BUILDING BLOCKS.

Application filed January 12, 1920. Serial No. (1),802.

To all wiz-0m t may concern.' l

Be it known that I, FRANK MCMURRAY SAwYnR, citizen of the UnitedStates,residing at Los Angeles. in the county of vLos Angeles and State ofCalifornia, havel invented certain new and useful Improvements inMethods of Making Artificial Building Blocks, of which the following isa specification.

This invention relates to improvements in apparatus and method ofmaking, artitificial building blocks or slabs, particularly slabsprovided with grooved edges and sunken panels.

One of the particular objects of the invention, is to provide a meansfor casting or molding artificial slabs in a rapid and efficient mannerat a minimum of cost, and at the same time avoid the handling of 11n--cured products, and utilizing only a limited amount of fioor space forthe purpose.-

Another important object ofthe invention is, to provide a molding meansinv which the` slabs are cured in dense formation and under a conditionwhereinl air is excluded during the curing process excepting possibly avery small amount which might enter around the edges of the moldingmeans.v

These and other objects hereinafter set forth are attained by the meansillustrated in the accompanying drawing. in which Fig. 1 is a verticalsectional view through a pile of slabs and their molding forms showingone step of the improved method.

Fig. 2. is a view similar to Figure 1 showing another step in theimproved method.

Fig. 3. is a horizontal section on the line v 3-3 of Figure 1.

Fig. 4. is a perspective view of one of the core frames.

Fig. 5, is a perspective view of one of the finished slabs looking .atthe underside thereof, and i Fig. 6 is a perspective view of one of themolding frame or forms. A

Similar reference numerals in all of the figures of the drawingdesignate like parts.

The main idea of this improved method is to avoid the expensive systemof handling green concrete products in the manner now ordinarilypracticed, and to allow the slabs to cure in dense formation byexcluding practically all air while curing. lThe improved method is asfollows Starting on a smooth floor or substantial platform, a form 10for molding a single same time.

slab is placed in position thereon. i This form is then filled levelwith concreate and floated to the form7 then after the concreate has setsufficiently, a sheet of oil paper 11 (or other material which isnon-adhesive with'respect to .the slabanaterial) is laidover the face ofthe slab, and then another form 10 is placed in position on the top ofthe first mentioned form, filled and floated with concrete material, andafter setting another sheet of oil paper is placed upon the top, and soon until the pile of slabs so formedfreaches a height too high to work lconveniently. It is of course understood more than one pile can bestarted at the As fast as .the concrete thoroughly sets in thelowerrnost slabs, the forms are removed therefrom and used for formingthe slabs at the top of the pile, thus the lowermost slabs areutilizedas supports for molding the upper slabs, thereby avoiding the necessityof moving the partly cured slabs from one lplace to another' in order tosecure a smooth support for forming another slab. It being understoodthat the lower forms are not removed until after the concrete therein isset sufliciently to retain their shape and able to support the Weight ofthe slabs and forms'placed above the same. In this manner the slabs arepractically cured in sealed chambers formed between the walls of themolds and the oiled'paper, and conse-- quently they cure in denseformation without air holes, thereby forming smooth and strong slabs.

ln certain constructions it is desirous of using` relatively thick slabswhich are of relatively light weight so that they can be handled easily.For these conditions a sunken panel slab is formed, such as shown in thedrawing. It being a part of the present method to form this sunkenpanel1 the operation is described as follows:

When the molding form 10 is placed in position, a form 12 is placedcentrally therein. This form 12 is preferably constructed of very thinmetal and has both ends open, andis of less height than the thickness ofthe slab to be cast. After mold 12 is placed in position it is filledand packed with damp sand, and then some of the slab material is pouredaround the same, preferably to the top thereof, and at this time the'form 12 is withdrawn and the vslab material poured into fill the form 10and the paper applied 'as before described. It is obvious that the sandremains in place until` the slabs are cured.

In other certain constructions it is desirous of using slabs havinggrooves around their edges, in which event the forms or molds areprovided with( ribs l-extending entirely around the Inold on its innerside and shaped to the contour of the groove desired. To provide for theremoval of the forms or molds from the cured grooved f from the bottomgrooved slabs of a .pile yin the course of formation, so that it can beused in another portion of the pile. They sides of the mold arepreferably formed of three pieces to Vprevent warping,

kWith this'method one slab can be molded upon another in afew minutes,and when a seml-dry mixture A1s used the operation can be continuous.Oil paperhas been foundto be the best dividing means to-be used betweenthe slabs, but when the slab material is allowed tovset suiciently, oilcan of dividing the The method of molding artificial building I slabshavingT a central depressed' portion, consisting of placing a slab-formon a base, next placingr ahollow core-form centrally therein and fillingthe core-form with coreorming material, next filling the slab-formanterior ot' the core-form-'up to the height ot the core-form with :slabmaterial, then'withdrawing the core-form while the slab material is softleaving Vthe sand core lying within the slab material,` and finally,T

filling theslab-form over the sand core andv .then allowing the slab tocure before ythe removableof the slab-'form and sand-core.

FRANK MCMURRAY SAWYER.

In testimony whereof I aix my signature.

